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AI Overviews

In short

AI Overviews are the short written summaries Google sometimes places above the links on a Search results page. They pull key points from web pages and show links so you can read further.

Also called
AI Overview, Search Generative Experience, SGE
Topic
Using AI tools
Level
Beginner
First described
Google introduced it on 10 May 2023 as the Search Generative Experience, an experiment in Search Labs announced by Elizabeth Reid, and later shipped the public version as AI Overviews1.

On 10 May 2023 Google started testing the idea in Search Labs, under the name Search Generative Experience (SGE). In the US English trial, a query could return an AI-written snapshot of the main points, with links underneath, plus a way to ask a follow-up. Google's example was a family trip: Bryce Canyon or Arches, with a child under three and a dog1.

The public name is AI Overviews. Google said it announced them for everyone in the US at Google I/O in May 20242. On 28 October 2024 Google said it was launching them in more than 100 countries, and that they would reach more than 1 billion users a month3. Google's help page, as read in October 2026, lists a wide set of countries under the Americas, Asia-Pacific, and Europe, the Middle East and Africa, plus a long list of languages4.

Google says an Overview is not a chatbot reply spun only from a model's training. In May 2024 it described a custom language model tied to Search's ranking systems, built to show information that top web results back up, with links2. Search Central says Overviews and the separate AI Mode tab may use query fan-out: several related searches, then a wider set of links than a classic search. Overviews are meant to appear only when Google's systems think they add something, and often they do not show at all5.

They still get things wrong. The help page says AI Overviews can and will make mistakes, and tells you to click the links4. In the first weeks of the US launch, Google said some overviews had repeated satire or forum jokes, including advice to use glue so cheese would stick to pizza, and that it had narrowed when an overview appears2.

On 27 January 2026 Google said it was making Gemini 3 the default model for AI Overviews globally, and that on mobile you could ask a follow-up and carry the search into AI Mode6. There is no off switch. Google calls them a core Search feature, like knowledge panels. The Web filter shows only ordinary links4.

Example

Google's 2023 demo asked which of two Utah parks suits a family with a toddler and a dog. The snapshot gathered the points to weigh into one place, with links, instead of the searcher splitting that into several queries1.

Why it matters

For many people it is the AI answer they meet without opening another app. Google says the snapshot can be wrong, so the links under it are the part to use4.

Questions people ask

Are AI Overviews the same as AI Mode?

No. AI Overviews are the snapshot on the results page, and Google says they often do not appear5. AI Mode is a separate chat-style search for questions that need more exploring. On mobile you can ask a follow-up on an Overview and continue in AI Mode with the context kept6.

Can I turn AI Overviews off?

Not on their own. Google's help page says they are a core Search feature, like knowledge panels, and cannot be switched off. After you search, the Web filter shows only text links, without AI Overviews4.

How do I keep my page out of an AI Overview?

Google says a page must be indexed and allowed to show a snippet, and that there is no extra tag just for these features. noindex removes the page. nosnippet, data-nosnippet and max-snippet limit what can be quoted. Google-Extended in robots.txt is a different control, for some other Google AI uses, not for AI Overviews or AI Mode5.

Are AI Overviews always accurate?

No. Google says they can and will make mistakes4. Soon after the US launch, Google said some had repeated jokes from the web, including putting glue on pizza, and that it had limited satire and some forum advice2. Click the links on anything you might act on.

Related terms

AI search engine Generative engine optimisation Grounding Hallucination Retrieval-augmented generation Large language model Chatbot Generative AI

Sources

  1. Elizabeth Reid, Google (10 May 2023), Supercharging Search with generative AI
  2. Elizabeth Reid, Google (30 May 2024), AI Overviews: About last week
  3. Google (28 October 2024), AI Overviews in Search are coming to more places around the world
  4. Google Search Help, Find information in faster and easier ways with AI Overviews (page read 12 October 2026)
  5. Google Search Central, AI features and your website (page last updated 10 December 2025)
  6. Robby Stein, Google (27 January 2026), AI Mode in Google Search and AI Overviews get Gemini upgrades

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